Swather for mowing machines



1. n. HlNToN. SWATHER FOB MOWING MACHINES.

. APPLICATION FILED DEQ. l l. 1920. 6,

2 SHEETS-SHEET, l.

la vl' ,2 5

J. R.. HINTUN.

SWATHER FOR MOWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION A'FILED DEC. I l, I920- Patented June 6,1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IHIHIIIHI IIH 1 III., M

JOHN R'. EENTON,

OF HANSEN,

SWATHER FOR MOWNG LVIACHNES.

Lailtii'i.

Application filed December To all whom t may con-cern:

Be it known that I, Jorrit l. HiNroN, a citizen of the `United States, residing at Hansen, in the county of Twin alls and State of Idaho, have invented new and useful Improvements in Swathers for Mowing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my present invention is the provision of a swather for mowing machines, characterized by flexibility and consequent capacity to swing freely to the right or left so as to follow turns and curves and operate efliciently in all positions, and one adapted to adequately segregate a swath from standing grass, and in which no obstruction whatever is offered to the rearward passage of a swath.

To the attainment of the foregoing, the invention consists `-in the improvement as hereinafter described and definitely claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof Figure l is a plan view illustrative of the application of my novel swather to a mowing machine.

Figure 2 is a vertical'section taken in the plane indicated by the line 2 2 ofFigure l.

Figure 3 'is an enlarged detail section illustrative of the rigid connection of the forward members of certain of the tines to the carrying bar of the mower cutting mechanism.

Figure e is a plan view showing the rear mem ers of certain of the tines as they appear when-swung toward the right.

Figure 5 is an enlarged side elevation villustrating the division means constructed in accordance with my invention.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings.

In general the mowing machine l may be and preferably is of the ordinary well known construction, and among other elements it comprises a carrying bar 2, for the cutting mechanism designated by 3. At the inner end vof the cutting mechanism the mower is provided withv a forwardly projecting fender 4L which may be and preferably is of the ordinary well known construction. At the outer end of the carrying bar 2 is arranged my novel division means-i. e., the means to divide or segregate the swath from standing grass. rlhe said division means 1s best illustrated in Figure 5, and by reference Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 6, 1922.

11,1920. Serial NO. 429,954.

to lsaid figure it will be understood as comprising a runner 5, an upright 6 :red to the rear portion of said runner, a tine 7' fixed to the rear portion ofthe runner 5 and extending rearwardly therefrom and then upwardly, and 'a longitudinal bar S, the latter fixed at its forward end to the ruimer 5 and at an intermediate point of its length to the upright (i and having its rear end portion arranged in close proximity to, though spaced from, the rear portion of the tine 7. The runner 5 is carried upwardly and forwardly ln the form of a comoound curve, and it is adapted to ride over the grass and start the roll to the cutting mechanism 3.

In this connection it will be observed that the division vmeans is fixed at right angles to the length of the cutting` mechanism, and that it is at once light in weight and well adapted to withstand the usage to which division devices are ordinarily subjected. Strongly fixed at 9 to the carrying' bar 2 is a bar l0 which is disposed under the carrying bar 2 for an important purpose hereinafter set forth.

Arranged under and fixed to the bar l0, as indicated by ll is the outermost tine l2 of the series. The said tine l2 is rigidly maintained in spaced relation to the division means in Figure 5 as will be readily understood by comparison of Figures l, 3 and fi.

Spaced apart and arranged in parallel relation to the tine l2 and to each other are the rigid ,members l'of the other tines. The said rigid members 13 are gradually increased in length as they recede from the tine l2, Figures l, and 4. lt will also be observed that the forward portions of the tine members 13 are arranged under and are'lixed 'to the before mentioned bar l0. fit this point I would have it understood that the rigid connection of the tine l2 and the' tine members 18 to the bar l0, and the fixturev of the bar l() to the underside of the carrying bar 2 is materially advantageous inasmuch as it assures the freerearward passage of the swath frointhe cutting mechanism to the tines andrearwardly over the tines. Certain of the tines are formed by rear members lin combination with forward members 18, and in combination 4with the innermost member 13 is employed a shank l5 by which three members 14a are carried. rlhe tine members 11i and 14a are gradually increased in length inwardly, and the rear portions of all of the tines are curved upwardly after the manner illustrated in Figure 2. rlhe rear tine members 14 and the shank 15 are hingedly connected at 16 to the forward tine members 13 so as to permit the said members 14 and shank 15 to freely swing in horizontal plane in either direction. From this it follows that the swather is possessed of great flexibility and is adapted to lend itself to turns or curves incident to the traverse of the mowing machine with the result that the swather is highly efficient in operation irrespective of the position of the mowing machine. lnterposed between the group of tine members 14a and the frame of the mowing machine is a retractile spring 17 which is preferably, though not necessarily, employed to assist in the return of the tine members 14a from the positions shown in Figure 4 to the positions shown in Figure 1.

By virtue of the construction of my improvement it will be observed that the division means best shown in Figure 5 will ride up on and divide the swath from the standing grass, and subsequentlyto the cutting, the swath will be guided freely over the tines and rolled and deposited in a windrow in rear of the tines.

It will be manifest that the tine members 13 being rigidly fastened cannot swing or turn in any direction. The hinge joints 16 between the members 13 and the tine mem-` bers 14 and 14"* serve to keep the tines in their horizontal position. It will also be observed that while the hinge joints serve the purpose stated, they also permit the rearward passage of a swath. By particular reference to Figure 3 it will be observed that the stubble is cut a slight distance, about three quarter of an inch, above the tops of the tine members 13. As soon as the cutting bar passes over, the stubble immediately fiies up above the cutter bar and alongside the tine members 13 and 14 and 14, and holds the mown hay, allowing the tines to slide under the swath until the curved portions of the tine members 14 and 14a begin the roll. The weight of the roll holds the tine mem bers 14 and 14 down in the stubble, and said members 14 and 14a necessarily trail behind the members 13 and rest in parallelism with each other.

I In Figure 4v the trailing tine members which approach a corner, are resting in the stubble and in parallel positions. As the mower swings toward the right carrying the rigid tine members 13 to the new position with the cutter bar ready to cut past the corner the tine members 14 and 14a are left in the last-named positions. The said tine members 14 and 14a are held parallel at all times b the stubble while the mower is cutting. f course in turning the corners there is some slight variation from the parallel positions but the increasing length of the rigid tine members 13 enable the curved portions of the members 14 and 141 to pass each other in right nangle turning, and the said members 14 and 14ZL are adapted to promptly return to the normal trailing position. The spring 17' serves merely to assist the members 14"L to return to the trailing position shown in Figure 1. This will be better understood when it is stated that in turning a corner with a heavy swath on the tine members 14 and 14a, the shorter tine members are first pulled away from the swath while the longer tine members are still in engagement with the swath. It is to assist the assembly of the tine members 14a that the spring 17 is employed. lt will further be understood that as the mower moves forwardly a few feet the stubble will force all of the trailing tine members to normal trailing position shown in Figure 1, and the spring 17 will then be idle until a turn is made.

It will also be apparent from the fore `going that notwithstanding the practical efficiency of my novel swather the same is simple and inexpensive in construction, is light in weight, and is free from delicate parts such as are likely to get out of order after a short period of use.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent,

1. In a swather for mowing machines, a plurality of side by side spaced tines each of which is made up of a forward rigid member and a rear member hingedly connected to the forward member, and adapted to freely swing toward the right or left.

2. In a swather for mowing machines, a y

plurality of side by side spaced tines each of which is made up of a forward rigid member and a rear member hingedly connected to the forward member, and adapted to freely swing toward the right or left; the forward members of the tines and the rear members thereof being gradually increased in lengths inwardly, and the rear portions of the tines being defiected upwardly.

3. In a swather for mowing machines, a plurality of side by side spaced tines each of which is made up of a forward rigid member and a rear member hingedly connected to the forward member, and adapted to freely swing toward the right or left, in combination with a bar to which the forward ortions of the forward members are rigi ly connected, and an outer rigid tine fixed to and extending rearwardly from the said bar and spaced outwardly beyond the outermost flexible tine. l

4. ln a swather for mowing machines, a plurality of side by side spaced tines each of which is made up of a forward rigid member and a rear member hingedly connected to the forward member, and adapted to freely swing toward the rigth or left, in combina tion with a bar to which the forward portions of the forward members are rigidly connected, an outer rigid tine fixed to and eX- tending rearwardly from the said bar and spaced outwardly beyond the outermost iieXible tine, and division means carried by and extending forwardly, upwardly and rearwardly from the said bar and spaced outwardly beyond the rigid tine.

5. ln a swather for mowing machines, a plurality of side by side spaced tines each of which is made up of a forward rigid member and a rear member hingedly connected to the forward member, and adapted to freely swing toward the vright or left, in combination with a bar to which the forward portions of the forward members are rigidly connected, an outer rigid tine fixed to and eX- tending rearwardly from the said bar and spaced outwardly beyond the outermost ilexible tine, and division means carried by and extending forwardly, upwardly and rearwardly from the said bar and spaced outwardly beyond the rigid tine; the said bar being adapted to be arranged under and fixedly connected to the carrying bar of a mower cutting mechanism, whereby no obstruction will be aorded to the rearward passage of a swath received on the tines.

6. The combination with the cutting mechanism and the carrying bar thereof, of division means at the outer end of and disposed at rightl angles to the carrying bar, a bar arranged at the underside of and iiXed to said carrying bar and iiXedly connected to said division means, a rigidL outer tine fixed to the underside of and extending rearwardly from the second-named bar in parallelism to the division means, forward tine members fixed to the underside of and extending rearwardly from the second-named bar and arranged in spaced relation and gradually increased in length inwardly, tine members hingedly connected at their forward ends to the rear ends of all of the forward tine members save the innermost forward tine member and gradually increased in length inwardly and having their rear portions deected upwardly, a shank hingedly connected to the rear end of the innermost forward tine member and carrying a plurality of tines gradually increased in length inwardly and having their rear portions deflected upwardly, and a retractile spring connected with the said shank to assist in the return of the said plurality of tines on the shank to their normal trailing positions.

In testimony whereof l afx my signature.

JOHN R. HINTON. 

